Click to enlarge.
McLaren Automotive today showed the McL 6GT at the 2026 Monterey Car Week. The first McLaren car of its kind, its design connects McLaren’s heritage to the present, using the McLaren M6GT – Bruce McLaren’s original, but unfulfilled Super Car dream, as its inspiration.but unfulfilled Super Car dream, as its inspiration. [The past is present here: McL 6GT celebrates a form of rare driving connection: tactile, analogue, and mechanical. Whether this endangered species is sought after awaits production and sales results – AutoCrat.]
“The McLaren McL 6GT imagines what our inspirational founder had wished to complete but with six additional decades of innovation and passion woven through every element, creating a modern icon of driver connection. It is symbolic of the bold, provocative and hugely exciting future that we are preparing to realize,” said Nick Collins, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.
“It is presented as an unmistakable signal of how the maverick spirit within McLaren can inform a future-facing approach to McLaren cars that will captivate with character. It also lays the foundations for a newly positioned and highly exclusive type of McLaren supercar beyond the core and expanded portfolio, which will be made real with a production version of McL 6GT in 2028,” McLaren said.
McL 6GT blends lightweight carbon-fiber construction, V8 internal combustion power, and for the first time in a McLaren since the legendary McLaren F1, an authentic manual transmission sending drive to the rear wheels.
McLaren, via McLaren Special Operations (MSO), honored Bruce’s in-period vision for the M6GT when it presented a meticulously assembled one-off of the original at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The McL 6GT takes this celebration of McLaren’s road car origins to the next level.
[Marketing babble alert – Autocrat>”The McL 6GT name is inspired by McLaren’s presence on track, as well as the foundations of McLaren’s automotive journey. McL 6GT creates a direct link between these two realms, honoring the vision that Bruce McLaren had for the team that he founded, and the spirit that continues to define the brand today.
“Interpreting the racing-inspired styling and surfacing of 1960s sports prototype racing cars with 21st century execution and packaging, the DNA of M6GT is felt throughout the design of McL-6GT.
“It begins with the proportions. McL 6GT sits exceptionally low and wide with a low nose, echoing the stance of the M6A Can-Am racer upon which the M6GT was based. The body surfacing is clean, with uninterrupted volumes flowing from the low nose to the distinctive Kammback tail.
“The car reads as a single continuous form, with the roof flowing naturally into the rear deck and engine cover. The cabin appears embedded within the body rather than sitting atop it. These organic qualities, wrapped tightly around the mechanical packaging, mimic the low-drag aerodynamic conventions of the era.
“The distinctive ‘Racing Loop’ motif inspired by the M6GT’s original taillights are integrated into the exterior airflow architecture, while Bruce McLaren’s original M6GT number plate is reimagined as a tone-on-tone graphic treatment. His signature adorns the engine bay, and the Speedy Kiwi – the first iconography developed from McLaren’s original logo – is discreetly etched into the fuel filler cap.
“Inside, that philosophy continues through carefully considered details. Boxed quilting is reinterpreted for a modern audience, while the new digital instrumentation retains the clarity and emotional appeal of the original. Together, these elements create a cockpit that feels both forward-looking and unmistakably connected to McLaren’s heritage,” McLaren said.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Annals of Nostalgia Marketing – McLaren McL 6GT
Click to enlarge.
McLaren Automotive today showed the McL 6GT at the 2026 Monterey Car Week. The first McLaren car of its kind, its design connects McLaren’s heritage to the present, using the McLaren M6GT – Bruce McLaren’s original, but unfulfilled Super Car dream, as its inspiration.but unfulfilled Super Car dream, as its inspiration. [The past is present here: McL 6GT celebrates a form of rare driving connection: tactile, analogue, and mechanical. Whether this endangered species is sought after awaits production and sales results – AutoCrat.]
“The McLaren McL 6GT imagines what our inspirational founder had wished to complete but with six additional decades of innovation and passion woven through every element, creating a modern icon of driver connection. It is symbolic of the bold, provocative and hugely exciting future that we are preparing to realize,” said Nick Collins, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.
“It is presented as an unmistakable signal of how the maverick spirit within McLaren can inform a future-facing approach to McLaren cars that will captivate with character. It also lays the foundations for a newly positioned and highly exclusive type of McLaren supercar beyond the core and expanded portfolio, which will be made real with a production version of McL 6GT in 2028,” McLaren said.
McL 6GT blends lightweight carbon-fiber construction, V8 internal combustion power, and for the first time in a McLaren since the legendary McLaren F1, an authentic manual transmission sending drive to the rear wheels.
McLaren, via McLaren Special Operations (MSO), honored Bruce’s in-period vision for the M6GT when it presented a meticulously assembled one-off of the original at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The McL 6GT takes this celebration of McLaren’s road car origins to the next level.
[Marketing babble alert – Autocrat>”The McL 6GT name is inspired by McLaren’s presence on track, as well as the foundations of McLaren’s automotive journey. McL 6GT creates a direct link between these two realms, honoring the vision that Bruce McLaren had for the team that he founded, and the spirit that continues to define the brand today.
“Interpreting the racing-inspired styling and surfacing of 1960s sports prototype racing cars with 21st century execution and packaging, the DNA of M6GT is felt throughout the design of McL-6GT.
“It begins with the proportions. McL 6GT sits exceptionally low and wide with a low nose, echoing the stance of the M6A Can-Am racer upon which the M6GT was based. The body surfacing is clean, with uninterrupted volumes flowing from the low nose to the distinctive Kammback tail.
“The car reads as a single continuous form, with the roof flowing naturally into the rear deck and engine cover. The cabin appears embedded within the body rather than sitting atop it. These organic qualities, wrapped tightly around the mechanical packaging, mimic the low-drag aerodynamic conventions of the era.
“The distinctive ‘Racing Loop’ motif inspired by the M6GT’s original taillights are integrated into the exterior airflow architecture, while Bruce McLaren’s original M6GT number plate is reimagined as a tone-on-tone graphic treatment. His signature adorns the engine bay, and the Speedy Kiwi – the first iconography developed from McLaren’s original logo – is discreetly etched into the fuel filler cap.
“Inside, that philosophy continues through carefully considered details. Boxed quilting is reinterpreted for a modern audience, while the new digital instrumentation retains the clarity and emotional appeal of the original. Together, these elements create a cockpit that feels both forward-looking and unmistakably connected to McLaren’s heritage,” McLaren said.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.